Music industry execs unconcerned by Apple Music threat

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 60
    I though the music app could have been announced better, Jimmy looked like he was faking it to make it. But, the music app itself seems to have all the needed features. I think the 3 month free trial is the killer feature, because the app looks a little on the ugly side, and some stuff I use a lot looks buried, but if people get used to it they will figure out how much useful and amazing stuff is there. Then they won't want to go back. Having used Spotify, I will say that the mobile app is very nice looking, not sure why Apple didn't make the app beautiful. They have the money. Instead it looks like they shot themselves in the foot with minimalism, ui best practices, design parity. But, once people get used to it I don't think they'll want to go back to buying music on demand. The people who are already streaming music, I don't expect them to join this in droves, but there are a lot of people who haven't discovered streaming and Apple is good at reaching the masses. Eventually, I think the music app will improve, and that's when competitors will get squeezed even more. I think the best sign I've seen that Apple Music will succeed, is the fact that these few record execs the verge found aren't worried. That's good news to me. Theyre defensive, with a hint of fear, but primarily lax. That's a perfect recipe for Apple to make slow and steady progress until they're number one in streaming.
  • Reply 22 of 60
    formosaformosa Posts: 261member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MagMan1979 View Post





    This one paragraph sums things up quite nicely for me...



    1. They spoke to The Verge, a known anti-Apple, bottom-feeder tech smut rag the likes of BGR

    2. They spoke to them anonymously

    3. They offered the same type of arrogant and ignorant prognostication as when the original iPod and iTunes was released



    What does all this tell me? That these CEO's (likely Pandora and Spotify) are just shitting and pissing themselves in fear of seeing their futures flash right before their eyes, a future in which their companies crumble.

     

    That didn't take long. Spotify intends to price-match Apple Music's family plan.

     

    http://www.androidauthority.com/spotify-to-match-apple-music-price-615283/

  • Reply 23 of 60
    d4njvrzfd4njvrzf Posts: 797member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MagMan1979 View Post





    This one paragraph sums things up quite nicely for me...



    1. They spoke to The Verge, a known anti-Apple, bottom-feeder tech smut rag the likes of BGR

    2. They spoke to them anonymously

    3. They offered the same type of arrogant and ignorant prognostication as when the original iPod and iTunes was released



    What does all this tell me? That these CEO's (likely Pandora and Spotify) are just shitting and pissing themselves in fear of seeing their futures flash right before their eyes, a future in which their companies crumble.

    Ironically, in Android circles The Verge is frequently dismissed as a bunch of pro-Apple shills.

  • Reply 24 of 60
    chadmaticchadmatic Posts: 285member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jungmark View Post





    Time will tell but you can't count Apple out. Ask Blackberry and Ballmer.

     

     

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Narcogen View Post



    I remember when Motorola was unconcerned by the idea of an Apple phone.



    I don't necessarily agree with your correlation between the iPhone and the new Apple Music service.  The iPhone was a revolutionary game-changer whereas the Apple Music service isn't that much different from it's competitors.  I love Apple as much as you guys, but let's not forget that not everything they touch turns to gold, think iTunes Ping and MobileMe.  When iTunes Radio was introduced there were plenty of comments here claiming it would be a Pandora killer.  I'm sure the new Apple Music service will do quite well over time and will be amongst the top music streaming services, but I don't think it will dominate the streaming market as it is currently designed.

  • Reply 25 of 60
    mrboba1mrboba1 Posts: 276member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post



    Speaking with The Verge, a number of unnamed executives said Apple Music will likely catch on with consumers, but is unlikely to reshape the industry, as did iTunes.



    "I think I've never been more confident," one person said following Apple's reveal. "We were all bracing ourselves, but we feel really good about it right now."

     

     

    iTunes saved the industry, I'm not sure why they would be "bracing themselves." They were being dragged down by the P2P music sites and needed a way out that didn't make them look like the big ugly ogre shutting down "our access to music"

     

    iTunes did that for them and made them a boatload of money. It sounds like this person "bracing themselves" is the former Napster CEO.

  • Reply 26 of 60
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,212member
    Apple's official line is that there are over thirty million songs in the AppleMusic catalog; which is just about ALL of the iTunes Music Store. I suspect they're not saying "ALL" because there are one or two holdouts (I'm thinking it's either Taylor Swift, The Beatles, or some small groups) but overall that's a massive selection.
    30 million selections seems to be a typical number too for other paid streamers. BTW, Swift is included with Apple Music, tho a couple of others like the Beatles who may have a dim view of music streaming are not.
  • Reply 27 of 60
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,212member
    d4njvrzf wrote: »
    Ironically, in Android circles The Verge is frequently dismissed as a bunch of pro-Apple shills.
    Eye of the beholder and all that. :\
  • Reply 28 of 60
    portcityportcity Posts: 68member
    Music execs have no reason to be concerned about Apple music since they own the rights to songs and create licensing deals. They even have a say in the prices of streaming services which is why Apple couldn't charge $7.99 like they initially wanted to.
  • Reply 29 of 60
    drunkzombiedrunkzombie Posts: 169member
    The best thing about this service is its full integration with the device, this isn't an app to play music, it's the way your phone will let you consume it.
  • Reply 30 of 60
    "Music Executive" is such a weasel word in this article. Is it an exec from a label, a competitor, a radio station? Who knows the article sure doesn't tell you. Can't see Apple Music's success hurting labels. And I wouldn't expect competitors to say Apple nailed it.
  • Reply 31 of 60
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,926member
    chadmatic wrote: »



    I don't necessarily agree with your correlation between the iPhone and the new Apple Music service.  The iPhone was a revolutionary game-changer whereas the Apple Music service isn't that much different from it's competitors.  I love Apple as much as you guys, but let's not forget that not everything they touch turns to gold, think iTunes Ping and MobileMe.  When iTunes Radio was introduced there were plenty of comments here claiming it would be a Pandora killer.  I'm sure the new Apple Music service will do quite well over time and will be amongst the top music streaming services, but I don't think it will dominate the streaming market as it is currently designed.

    Who said anything about dominating? Time will tell. I was commenting on the exec's "confidence". That's almost like a guarantee.
  • Reply 32 of 60
    palegolaspalegolas Posts: 1,361member
    The exclusive feature is that they're opening the door for indies. This is directly competing with music on YouTube, but with a true music-centric distribution model in place. This might be what makes it work, if it's adopted. Still... The discovery rate and user base on YouTube is really powerful. But.. We'll see how some no name artist can live on Ping.. Sorry ;) Connect.. And drive more traffic there than on YouTube.

    I still don't see though, how streaming can EVER be fair money-wise for artists. I haven't seen the numbers for @Music but... I bet it just isn't gonna be fair.

    Spotify is a sinking ship. Never been profitable, and no wonder. Apple doesn't have to be profitable here. This is a painful truth for Apple's competitors. Apple sell hardware. Software and distribution of apps and music is just the platform. I bet they wanna keep the numbers on the plus side though, but they don't have to, since the hardware sales are driving the platform.
  • Reply 33 of 60
    sdw2001sdw2001 Posts: 18,016member
    Pretty much on board with others here: While we don't know how successful Apple Music will be, history tells us the music industry really sucks at knowing what's coming. They utterly failed to see the trends on legitimate downloads and the removal of DRM. Not exactly a track record I'd be proud of.
  • Reply 34 of 60
    Apple seems to be competing in more and more areas. I am no expert on music, but the service looks worth my nickel. The only problem I saw in the keynote was the lack of transition or fade between Mr Cues various music selections. Is it that hard to make the transition from one type of music to another more smooth?? This is exactly the kind of thing that would have driven Steve Jobs nuts!
  • Reply 35 of 60
    penchantedpenchanted Posts: 1,070member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by palegolas View Post



    Spotify is a sinking ship. Never been profitable, and no wonder. Apple doesn't have to be profitable here. This is a painful truth for Apple's competitors. Apple sell hardware. Software and distribution of apps and music is just the platform. I bet they wanna keep the numbers on the plus side though, but they don't have to, since the hardware sales are driving the platform.

    This is probably key. Outside of Apple only Google is in a position to make a long-term commitment operating at break-even or even at a loss. And I suspect things will get tougher for the competitors if the labels did end up getting their extra five percent. Apple may enjoy most favored nation status that sees more content exclusives and promos.

  • Reply 36 of 60
    narcogennarcogen Posts: 26member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by chadmatic View Post

     

     

     



    I don't necessarily agree with your correlation between the iPhone and the new Apple Music service.  The iPhone was a revolutionary game-changer whereas the Apple Music service isn't that much different from it's competitors.  I love Apple as much as you guys, but let's not forget that not everything they touch turns to gold, think iTunes Ping and MobileMe.  When iTunes Radio was introduced there were plenty of comments here claiming it would be a Pandora killer.  I'm sure the new Apple Music service will do quite well over time and will be amongst the top music streaming services, but I don't think it will dominate the streaming market as it is currently designed.


    I actually don't think the Apple Music service is a slamdunk either-- or that it's as revolutionary a product as iOS. I do, however, get a kick out of companies still, after all this time, having their initial reaction to what Apple does being dismissive, and somehow the tech press isn't making anybody eat crow the way they would if it was anybody else.

  • Reply 37 of 60
    palegolaspalegolas Posts: 1,361member
    And by the way.. That radio channel is hopefully, probably the first of many to come. If this is a DJ channel with pop culture music, there will hopefully be a classical music channel to follow, a more contemporary jazz channel etc. I would love high quality radio channels to discover new music.
  • Reply 38 of 60
    sirlance99sirlance99 Posts: 1,293member
    magman1979 wrote: »
    This one paragraph sums things up quite nicely for me...

    1. They spoke to The Verge, a known anti-Apple, bottom-feeder tech smut rag the likes of BGR
    2. They spoke to them anonymously
    3. They offered the same type of arrogant and ignorant prognostication as when the original iPod and iTunes was released

    What does all this tell me? That these CEO's (likely Pandora and Spotify) are just shitting and pissing themselves in fear of seeing their futures flash right before their eyes, a future in which their companies crumble.

    Funny how anyone in the Android world would say The Verge is a Apple loving site and call it iVerge all the time.

    Why do you want all other music streaming companies to fail? I hope Apple Music does well, I don't think it'll do as big and awesome as some of you are claiming but it'll hold its own. But I definitely don't want Apple Music to be the ONLY service to have because all others went out of business. Which I don't think will happen either.

    I know I won't switch from Google Play Music as it does everything that Apple Music does for what I use it for. I have no interest in Beats One Off station. I'll try Apple Music for the three months and if for some reason I do like it I might switch but it'll be hard to pay $2 more per month for the same service.
    These executives on in denial.
    They are toast and they know it.
    At 15 bucks a month for 6 people that's $2.50 per person.
    Even the pirate sites Are toast.

    Pirate sites are not toast. Get over your self. You're putting way too much stock into Apple Music as it is now. It'll do well but not to the extent that it blow everything else away.
  • Reply 39 of 60
    splifsplif Posts: 603member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Apple v. Samsung View Post





    Google music offers all of this but the free radio. It does have a radio mode. It offers videos on the app. It has curated playlist, it allows for music upload, it also includes YouTube music key its a great service but you see apple music has no compelling reason to choose it over Google music or the rest of the competition.



    I guess you could say the same thing for Google music.

  • Reply 40 of 60
    icoco3icoco3 Posts: 1,474member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by mrboba1 View Post

     

    ... It sounds like this person "bracing themselves" is the former Napster CEO.


     

    No, he is at Facebook.

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